New Orleans issues 100 new taxi permits

NEW ORLEANS — The city announced Thursday that it has awarded 100 new certificates of public necessity and convenience to taxicab drivers and companies.

A CPNP is a permit that is required for any for-hire vehicle to legally operate.

The new CPNCs were awarded after the city last December announced it would accept applications for the permits.

The CPNCs do not add to the city’s current fleet of existing cabs.

Instead they are being redistributed to drivers who did not previously have their own permits or companies that wanted more permits.

“As we remain committed to having safe and accessible taxicab service in New Orleans, we are honored to be able to issue these CPNCs,” Mayor Mitch Landrieu said in a prepared statement.

“These CPNCs will create a new group of owners and reward the entrepreneurial spirit that drives commerce in our city.”

The new CPNCs were issued after the City Council last April passed a package of changes that revamped the taxi industry in the city.

Drivers who have financed vehicles in their own names but do not have the permits will be awarded 75 of the new CPNCs. Existing taxicab companies will be awarded 25 of the new CPNCs.

“This new complement of drivers will be good for the industry and good for the city,” said District C Council member Kristin Gisleson Palmer, who also serves as chairwoman of the council’s Transportation Committee. “We have worked to upgrade and professionalize the industry, and this step enhances our efforts.”